“The Food Safety Course That Taught Me About True Inclusive Assessment”

Assessment and learning can take place anywhere. Whenever I travel, attend a bread-baking class, or engage in conversations with my friends and colleagues, I find myself constantly assessing my understanding to improve my approaches, and build upon my knowledge. These learning experiences outside school settings often provide me with some meaningful insights. 

Recently, I found myself in a classroom made up of very diverse people – a TCM practitioner, elderly hawkers, international workers in the F&B industry, an accompanying retiree (my dad) and daughter (me) who were there with a school canteen vendor (my mum) – learning about basic food safety in Mandarin. Though diverse, they came with some industrial experience and basic knowledge of food safety. One of them was struggling as his employer had signed him up for the course in the wrong language.

Throughout the course, I found myself helping many of them with QR code scanning, interpreting words some could not read, and assisting the teacher to support them. Despite their initial apprehension and assessment stress, they tried their best to jot down notes, understand the Chinese characters, and remember how to write them. The elderly amongst them were struggling with eyesight and hearing problems too. What stressed me was the expectation by the instructor to write my answers in Chinese characters since this is a Mandarin-speaking course. I could feel the tension multiplied several times over in the rest of my coursemates, especially those who were not very literate and when the stake of this assessment is high – results will affect their rice bowl. This got me thinking and reflecting on assessment for all learners, once again.

Language as Bridge, Not Barrier

In this experience of mine, language can either enable or deter learning when assessment methods remain rigid. Cummins’ (1979) theory of linguistic interdependence suggests that knowledge and skills transfer across languages when learners are given appropriate support and processing time. For this course, multilingual assessment approaches were used. Visual aids such as illustrations of food storage methods, appropriate attire, colour-coded hygiene practices, and potential safety threats surpassed language barriers and made complicated ideas accessible to all learners regardless of literacy levels. The trainer also tried her best to scaffold and draw references to them. 

Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of the Zone of Proximal Development suggests that learners achieve more with peer support than they could independently. My coursemates who were more proficient in Mandarin stepped in to reduce comprehension gaps for those who are struggling, creating an organic learning community, reducing the seclusion that these individuals may feel.

The principles of Universal Design for Learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002), advocate for multiple means of representation and expression. When learners are given space to mentally translate concepts into a language they are more familiar with, process the information, and then formulate responses, they demonstrate deeper comprehension than when pressured to work exclusively in Mandarin. Take my parents for instance. They were able to articulate their knowledge in Hokkien, a dialect they often use. However, it took them a while to connect the chinese words illustrated in the learning materials. The pictures and explanation by the instructor helped them a lot. This challenges the assumption that immersive, single-language instruction is always superior for assessment purposes.

Confidence and Assessment Anxiety

For many of my coursemates – the elderly hawkers, the experienced international F&B workers – this was their first structured examination in years, perhaps decades. The anxiety they were feeling should not be neglected. It was intense, reflected in their writing speed and difficulties faced. Adding on, repeated questions seeking support. I was not spared of this emotion despite learning Chinese Language when I was a student.

Is there a need for strategies that reduce test anxiety whilst maintaining assessment rigour? Building confidence requires acknowledging prior knowledge and experience, a principle central to constructivist learning theory (Bruner, 1996). Many course mates had been handling food for years through practical experience; the challenge was translating that tacit knowledge into formal assessment responses. I realise that it is important to recognize and affirm their existing F&B expertise, while gently introducing new theories, helped bridge the gap between what they knew and what they could demonstrate on paper.

Providing a positive and non-threatening assessment environment matters considerably. Research on assessment anxiety by Zeidner and Matthews (2005) demonstrates that environmental factors significantly impact performance. Simple adjustments – allowing extra time, providing sample questions for practice, offering encouragement rather than criticism, and creating opportunities for learners to ask questions without judgement – transformed the assessment from a threatening ordeal into a manageable challenge. I was thankful the instructor allowed these to take place. Also, she included a practical hands-on assessment component. I found these stations quite fun and non-threatening. 

Hybrid Assessment Innovation

Would the traditional written examinations be able to capture the true competency of many learners in this food safety course? The instructor made use of hybrid assessment that combined multiple evaluation methods to create a more authentic and comprehensive measure of understanding. The practical demonstrations allowed learners to show what they knew through action rather than words. Demonstrating proper handwashing techniques, correctly storing food items at appropriate temperatures, or identifying contamination risks in a mock kitchen setup revealed competency that written tests might have missed. For learners with limited literacy, these practical components provided an opportunity to excel and build confidence.

How I wish there could be an oral assessment component that could complement the written components by allowing learners to explain concepts in their own words, at their own pace. This approach will accommodate different communication styles and reduce the disadvantage faced by those who struggled with written Chinese characters. Black and Wiliam’s (1998) research on formative assessment suggests that dialogue-based assessment provides richer insights into learner understanding than static written responses alone. Instructors could probe understanding through follow-up questions, ensuring that learners truly grasped concepts rather than simply memorising answers and chinese words. The key should be ensuring that we are assessed for food safety competency, not Chinese language proficiency. This is a crucial consideration for fair and valid assessment design.

This hybrid model will create a more equitable assessment system where diverse learners could demonstrate their competency through their strengths, whilst still being challenged to grow in areas of weakness. Authentic assessment of competency requires flexibility, creativity, and a willingness to look beyond traditional testing paradigms.

Outcomes of the Course

Did everyone pass eventually? All (including my dad) except one who literally fled during lunch break as she was too traumatised by the assessment that she once failed. My course mates’ reactions reminded me of the power of assessment — to empower or to exclude. True assessment should honour the learning process that involves personal reflection, reframing of thoughts and improving knowledge / skills instead of reducing learners to a single test score. Isn’t this outcome more valuable than purely numerical results? 

Is there a need for and space to reframe assessments in our classrooms? Definitely. My key takeaway is recognizing that every learner is different. They learn with varying levels of confidence, readiness, and emotions, but their ultimate aspiration remains the same — to learn something successfully and meaningfully. I have experienced the value of assessment supporting my learning in life, and likewise I hope that my students can benefit from their assessment experiences to make them alert to learning beyond the classroom.